Today’s real estate trends point to a shift in the real estate sales paradigm. With today’s consumers empowered by information freely available online through portals like Zillow and Trulia, home buyers and sellers are increasingly looking to alternative sales models they feel offer better bang for the buck.

Sales Evolution
Though many agents fear replacement, market information accessibility isn’t rendering agents nonessential. Instead the rise of accessible digital home information has consumers looking to new opportunities in digital property transactions. Like the travel industry’s shift from agents to online tools, consumers no longer need the middle man to safely conduct transactions.

The Shift to Digital
Rather than the traditional 2.5-3% agent fee on each transaction side, consumers are looking to flat rate services such as Reali, which offer value while upholding quality of service. With the typical fee at about $5,000 for homes valued between $250,000-750,000, this offers both buyers and sellers substantial savings.

On a $500,000 home, which at a 3% commission would normally run $15,000, buyer savings amounts to $10,000 – a pretty penny in an era where scrounging up the cash for a down payment remains a significant challenge. And such services are not discounted, but full service, providing all the services and protections buyers typically expect from a broker, including open communication 7-days a week.

The Realization of a New Era
In this new era of real estate sales, most buyers/sellers opt for a non-intrusive chat/text session. Video/photo tours are created online, and buying/selling documents scheduled and uploaded through the service’s app, including disclosures and an executive summary of each deal’s details.

From scheduling a showing to shopper questions, everything is managed digitally via a buying/selling process that is automated, efficient, and tech-driven, yet still protects both parties, providing essential transactional guidance. Transparent, real time transactions, from the source, with no middlemen.

Arm yourself for changing real estate trends. Stay ahead of the game with the help of Properties Online.

Struggling with real estate video SEO? We’ve got the information you need to tap into YouTube’s masses. The second largest search engine by volume (after Google), a winning marketing strategy for optimizing your content via YouTube search is one of the easiest ways to maximize ROI from your video marketing campaign.

Get to Know Key On-Page Ranking Factors
These include your video title, the most important, as well as video description and meta tags.

– TITLE: It’s best to put your main keyword at the beginning of the title. (Titles have a 100 character limit, but only search to 66 characters, so be careful.)

– DESCRIPTION: Place the main keyword at the start of the video description as well, with secondary keywords included in the body of the description, making sure content reads naturally.

– TAGS: Be sure to include about 5-10 tags covering your main keyword, but don’t go overboard.

Used Closed Captioning
In addition to helping the hearing-impaired take advantage of your content, closed captions can also strengthen your SEO. Adding them is easy.

Promote Outside YouTube
While views are no longer a top ranking factor, search results still ranks videos by popularity, making them essential in setting your video apart as an authoritative piece on its subject matter.

Marketing on social media sites is integral for agents, yet many have only scratched the surface of their social media potential. In today’s real estate marketing tips, we’ll take a look at maximizing this potential, and how to get potential customers to ‘like’ you… Before they ‘swipe left’ on your brand.

Seven Ways to Step-Up Your Social Marketing Game

– Make Sharing Simpler
With a responsive layout, clear photography, easy to find/use buttons including favorites and links to other social sharing sites.

– Take Advantage of Facebook Groups
Link Facebook Groups to your FB page, using them to boost networking and offer additional client services. Monitor questions buying/selling clients are looking for help on in the group, and show off your expertise!

– Share More, with Reviews & Services
Enable both reviews and services to gain referrals (the best kind of marketing collateral), allowing clients to make appointments or message you with questions and simplifying the ‘connection’ process.

– Go Live
At a property, promoting a behind-the-scenes, unedited ‘scoop’ on new listings.

– Get Chatty
Building a Facebook Messenger chatbot through Sprout Social to answer common questions, offer impressive turnaround on inquiries, and cut down on your workload. Include closest listings by zip code, listings by price range, how to prep a home for sale, and more.

– Build Trust
With frequent posts, infographics, how-to videos, and other free real estate marketing tips. These are some of the easiest ways to build rapport without openly ‘pushing’ your services.

Eighty-four-percent of boomers and 94% of millennials rely on the Internet to search for their future home. How big a slice might you be missing out on with lackluster, behind-the-times marketing schemes? Step things up with the help of these and other real estate marketing tips from Properties Online today.

Despite being ‘mature’ technology, email is the longest lasting, most private social network venue available. And video usage in real estate marketing can help you make the most of this effective – and cost effective – marketing channel.

• Labeling
Video newsletter sent from a person (i.e. JaneSmith@email.com) net better open rates than those from a company (RealEstateCity.com). Generic does not do well, and frequently sees the trash bin.

• Segmenting
Instead of sending out one email to a massive list of prospects, targeting newsletter mails to 2-6 smaller lists can increase open rates by 27%.

• Timing
Recent subscribers see higher open rates and increased activity compared to those receiving their fourth or fifth email – working to generate new subscribers and engaging new leads is key. Wednesday and Thursday offer the best open rates – but testing different days of the week may yield better results.

• Tracking
Tracking open rates and reviewing who’s receiving which emails can give substantial insight into prospect engagement: Where are clients looking? What videos were watched? Which messages generated the most interest?

• Function
Newsletters and videos must look and function well on a variety of devices, as 36% of all opens are on mobile devices, 33% on desktop, and 31% webmail.

Ready to Increase Your Viewing Audience?
Forge a smoother path to putting video usage in real estate marketing to work for you with the help of PropertiesOnline today.

Video usage in real estate marketing is exploding, and surprisingly enough to many agents, it involves more than listing videos. Are you missing out on the benefits that these essential real estate marketing videos can deliver?

Agent/Office Promotional Videos
What makes you/your office stand out? From awards to finding foreclosures for flipping, tout it in a short promo.

Interview Videos
Generate new leads by interviewing past clients on their first-person experience working with you. Interviews with respected figures in the community, as well as colleagues in the industry (lenders, inspectors, attorneys) will boost your video marketing currency.

Profile VideosHelp potential sellers and buyers better understand what you have to offer with a brief “about me” video, highlighting your family, hobbies, successes, and even funny stories or anecdotes.

Neighborhood & Community Videos
Capture special community events like annual festivals and parades, hone-in on area amenities, shopping and dining hotspots, beautiful scenery and more with a short, informational video to offer a deep and unique community perspective.

Local Business Reviews
Area restaurant, retail store, or business win an award, or simply have a strong community following? Feature these shining venues.